Day of Definitions
by Megawacky Max
Summary: This is the sequel of Day of Resolutions that everybody asked for. Harry Potter is second from failing Dumbledore's last request. His mind is gone to Oblivion. Before the apparent End, the Chosen One recalls his latests adventures.


**-o-**

**Harry Potter**

**Day of Definitions**

**Written by:**  
Megawacky Max

**-o-**

**Special thanks to…**

… My beloved Eve, who is a constant winning factor when it comes to publishing my stories. Thanks to her, you don't have to bear my HORRIBLE grammar mistakes.

Also, thanks to all those who read _"Day of Resolutions"_ and asked for a sequel. It takes time, but sometimes one feels in a good mood.

**-o-**

**Author Notes:**

This is a sequel of _"Day of Resolutions"_. Many people cried for one. I didn't want to write this, because some stories are best finished with an open ending, just like _"Day of Resolutions"_ did.

But people asked for a sequel. And I had one in mind.

This is, in fact, more than just a sequel. This is an _ending_. An ending of seven books. I've been thinking a lot on how this saga could end, and I came up with a theory after reading _"Half-Blood Prince"_. This story follows that theory, and perhaps most of you may be surprised to no end.

But enough of this. You asked for a sequel, you got a sequel, so let's move on. This is how it ends…

**-o-**

**Chapter One  
Meeting at Godric's Hollow**

**H**arry Potter was dying. At least, that's what he hoped.

His body leaned against the cold stone wall, every inch of it aching fiercely. His wand was a few feet away, but he didn't dare pick it up.

Harry could move. After so many awful experiences from collecting the Horcruxes he certainly learned to keep walking even if his legs had been turned into something nasty. Experience – that was the word. Harry Potter had gathered too much of it: as his thoughts became wiser, so had his actions. No longer a kid, he was now a responsible man. A responsible man with a mission, and he was minutes from failing it.

Harry _could_ move. Even if only one arm remained of his consumed body, it would fight and crawl to reach the wand. But right now something else was stopping him from even moving a muscle.

Someone was pointing a wand at him.

A wand held by a pale, disgusting hand.

The hand of the most terrible wizard of all times.

_Lord Voldemort._

He was smiling. No, he was _grinning_. The demented grin of the true madman. A smirk of insane pleasure with twitching red eyes and trembling pulse. Voldemort, too, had injuries all over his face, but like Harry, he wouldn't stop for a few scratches.

"I will kill you, Harry…" he hissed. There was obscene delight in those words. "You have annoyed me too much already. You found my Horcruxes, then? You destroyed them?"

"Yes," said Harry, defiant. The next thing he felt was a raging wave of pain bursting through his already aching body.

Then it stopped. Harry opened his eyes and saw the maniacal red eyes flickering in the torchlight of what could only be described as Lord Voldemort's hideout.

"I am enjoying this so much," Voldemort whispered. "But every joy has to end, doesn't it? Well, then…"

Harry saw the glow in Voldemort's eyes. That serpentine grin increased horribly.

"… _DIE_!!"

Voldemort stiffed his arm; he aimed at Harry's heart.

"AVADA—"

Harry's mind went into oblivion.

It was just what minds in danger do. When they sense it's time to pack up and move to the World Beyond, they offer their owner a massive time warp to enjoy the homemade movies of past events. Most people claim it to be the "your life passing in front of your eyes" thing. They can call it whatever they wish.

Harry Potter sunk into the darkness…

… his thoughts floated back in Time…

… to happier days, several months in the Past.

**-o-o-o-**

**I**t was the newest house in Godric's Hollow. People living there wondered when the new neighbours had moved in, especially when they recalled there had only been an empty lot in the place now occupied by a proper house. Many had heard of pre-constructed habitats, but this was ridiculous.

The owners of the cabin were quiet people, something considered acceptable in Godric's Hollow, a rather small, rather lost, rather pathetic little town inside a low valley. It had hardly more than a few hundred inhabitants, one police department, one volunteer fire brigade, one church, one library and two general stores. It also had one small graveyard and, as every little town in the world does, Godric's Hollow owned a myth.

Less than a myth. It was a mystery, yes, but not yet a myth. It was the story of a mysterious incident taking place little more than sixteen years ago, when the volunteer firemen received an emergency call in the middle of the night.

The quiet village of Godric's Hollow had been awakened by a deafening blast. It was like the sound of thunder ripping the sky in two; only no thunder would have ever existed, not with the clear, cloudless night sky. What the entire village saw up there, right above a house in flames, was an eerie sight no one in their right mind would ever be able to forget.

It resembled a green, glowing skull. It had a snake coming out from its mouth.

However, nobody in their right mind currently recalled that sight. Nobody within the parameters of Normal People, addressed as _"Muggles"_ in Wizard Talk. All those people remembered was a blast, a house on fire and a pack of robed people saying everything was under control.

Where had these robed men come from?

At first, the very thought puzzled everyone in town. Then, over time, they stopped wondering about it. All that left from that one incident was an empty lot and two new graves in the graveyard, owned by the only two inhabitants of the burnt cottage.

As for the new neighbours . . . There was something odd about them. Not really the woman, who was a nice-looking red-haired girl, but certainly about the man. Several people in Godric's Hollow had seen him before. That man looked just like the old owner of the burnt house. He was also the owner of the new house that had been built overnight in the empty lot. Talk about coincidences.

He looked like James Potter.

"Must be your imagination," the man laughed when interviewed in one of the general stores. The girl next to him smiled.

Despite the words of the mysterious couple, they had been seen at the graveyard, standing still in front of the graves of James and Lily Potter, arms around each other supportively.

They have been around for one week. Not a very social couple of newlyweds, but it was okay. Godric's Hollow was comfortable as it was: a small, quiet village.

It couldn't last long.

That morning in particular, just before the sun appeared on the horizon, two new people arrived in Godric's Hollow. Nobody saw them coming. They walked around for a bit, looking for directions. Suddenly, one of them, a woman with brown, frizzy hair, tapped the tall, red-haired man on the shoulder. Then she pointed to a house in particular. There was a stuffed alligator inside a trash can, next to the little cabin's door. The couple shared a knowing glance and nodded, then headed that way.

There was an unmatchable calm within the walls of that cabin. In every corner of the rooms, quiet calm could be breathed in. Especially in the main bedroom, where two bodies remained in bed, enjoying their particular dreams and sharing a sleepy hug.

The mysterious man and the woman were slumbering side by side, her arms hugging him from behind. For a brief moment, time seemed to have stopped to allow the couple to be together. But it everything has to end, and this wouldn't be any exception.

Harry Potter opened his eyes.

At first he didn't understand what was going on. It happened every morning since Bill and Fleur's wedding. Things had changed so much in so little time. He felt the warm body on his back and the loving arms of the one he truly loved, and so he turned on the mattress only to face the source of his happiness and smile at the fact it all happened. She was there. He was there. They were happy.

But something did wake him up. A sense of danger he had developed since his previous encounters with Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers. Something within him was warning him that there would be an interruption soon.

There was a soft but firm knocking on the front door.

Harry stood frozen. He was distracted from his happiness whith the sound of… but… Was it the door? Lately, he was too paranoid about sounds and shadows, always expecting the worse and jumping to hasty conclusions with no real evidence.

He remained still, his senses razor-sharp. The bedroom was now reigned by an eerie silence. This was the silence that can be heard, for it is so big and loud your ears cry for mercy.

After several seconds of the silent torture, Harry's senses began to ease. He didn't want to leave this spot. He was warm and comfortable. He turned over and took his glasses from the night table on his side of the bed, then checked out the time. Ten past six in the morning. Who could knock on his door at this time of the day? With this thought in mind, he put his glasses back on the night table and let himself sink into a happier world of his own, encouraged by the warmth of his wife's arms. Yes… Yes, he was probably being far too paranoid again.

He closed his eyes and quickly began to slumber.

And he was awakened by a new round of knocking, this time stronger.

Harry was now fully awake. Nobody would knock twice of it wasn't important. He slid out of bed without waking Ginny up, grabbed his glasses and, from inside the drawer of the nightstand, took out a long, wooden wand.

Slowly, he headed to the main door, his wand ready and his mind racing. As the knocking repeated for the third time his eyes flickered to the small apparatus carefully placed on one side of the doorframe. The small Sneakoscope was motionless. That was good, but he wouldn't risk too much.

"Who is it?" he asked to the door, his voice firm.

"The brother of your wife," retorted a rather annoyed voice at the other side of the door.

Harry remained still, staring at the entrance. _It had happened_, he thought. They'd found him, but, were they the people he thought they were?

"Who was in the first collectable card I ever got from a chocolate frog?" said Harry.

"_Dumbledore_," said the voice.

Harry nodded. He sighed deeply and unlocked the front door. Then he opened it and saw two people.

He attempted a smile. It came out quite good.

"Good morning," he said. "It seems you've fo—"

WHAM!

Harry fell on his back, his face and mind aching. He had suspected Ron would express his opinions as soon as possible and was quite ready to forgive him for the punch.

"Ron!" yelled an angry Hermione Granger, hurrying around her partner and helping Harry stand. "You promise you wouldn't do that!"

"Well, _he_ promised he wouldn't get my sister in this!" Ron said, closing the door after him and rubbing his knuckles.

"You still promised!" Hermione said. "Harry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Harry, who had a swollen lip. "Not what I'd call a warm welcome, but—"

SLAP!

Harry fell on his back, his cheek and mind aching.

"You promised _me_!" Hermione shouted at Harry, her face exuding fury. "How could you! I thought you had more common sense than this!"

Harry remained on the floor and decided to stay still. He felt safer down there.

"All right, I did bad, I admit it... Look, we can talk this out with a good cup of tea and... ow... some anaesthetics."

"You _married_ her!" Ron snapped. "Are you mental? She's too bloody _young_!"

"Hey, that was not my idea!" Harry decided to start defending himself. "She came up with that. I was... sort of caught unaware."

"Not what Fred and George told to us," muttered Hermione, offering a hand. "Here, I'll help you."

"What, to be either slapped or punched again?" Harry scowled. "No, thanks."

"Oh, quit that."

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and helped him up. Harry stepped back as soon as he was back on his feet, just in case. Both Hermione and Ron glared daggers at him.

"But that doesn't mean we're not angry with you," said the latter.

"What you and Ginny did was illegal," said Hermione. "In name of Merlin's beard, she's a minor! How could you think of marrying her?!"

"It was her idea!" snapped Harry. "I was going to leave her just like I promised, but during the wedding she began the whole _'Marry Me'_ thing!"

"Yeah, and you did a lot to stop her!" Ron said.

Harry opened his mouth and closed it again. Truly, he could have stopped her. But... how? He couldn't have achieved such a thing, not to her.

"Look... Ron..." Harry sighed. "I understand we did something... bad. But we meant to do it. This isn't some crush we feel. This is stronger. Doesn't it mean anything I am now more than a friend with you?"

"Oh, don't you try to soften me with that speech!" Ron said, his ears reddening.

"Just calm down!" Harry protested. "Ginny's perfectly fine! What do you _think_ has happened since we left the Burrow?"

"Harry?" said a sleepy voice from behind. "Harry, what's up? You weren't in bed with me and I got worried and..."

Ginny froze under the doorframe of the bedroom and stared at the trio. She saw Harry. She saw Hermione.

She saw Ron.

"Ay..." she muttered. She stared at Harry and noticed he was only wearing boxer pants. She took a glance down and noticed her few clothes as well, underwear and a thin nightgown. She looked back at Ron. "_Ay_..." she repeated, now with feeling. "H-Hello, Ron..."

Both Harry and Hermione stared at Ron. His face was reddening gradually. Ginny slowly backed up and softly closed the bedroom's door.

"I don't think I want to know _what_ happened since you two left," Ron tightly whispered. "I'll accept that cup of tea. I believe we all have a lot to talk about."

Harry nodded and hurried to the kitchen. It would be a tense breakfast. He magically filled the teapot with water and ignited the kitchen burner for it. Hermione walked in seconds later and began to look for cups.

"Ron is in the sitting room," she whispered.

Harry nodded, aware of the increasing tension. He had survived Voldemort and his Death Eaters several times, already. Could he survive that morning the same way?

"How... ahem... How's Mrs. Weasley?" he asked.

"You mean your Mother-in-Law?" Hermione retorted, perhaps sharper than she should have.

Harry sighed and lowered his head. He then stared at her. "Yes. My Mother-in-Law."

"She was hysterical," said Hermione. "I have never seen someone with so many mixed feelings. It was scary."

"Sorry."

"Don't you 'sorry' me," she angrily said.

"Will you forget it?"

"No. I won't. I can't."

Harry ignored her and asked, "How did you get here?"

"Portkey," she said. "Ron didn't want to take the Knight Bus. It took Mr. Weasley three days of paperwork to have the Portkey authorized by the Ministry of Magic."

"I was wondering why you lot took so long finding us," said Harry.

"Don't joke," she clenched her teeth. "If we were delayed it was because of the Portkey's authorization and Mrs. Weasley's nervous breakdown."

Harry took the teapot off the flames and poured boiling water in the large teacups Hermione had just handed him. He felt guilty about the recent news.

"Nervous breakdown?" he shyly asked.

"You expected less?" Hermione grumbled. "Mrs. Weasley's reaction... I can not fully explain that. You had to be there."

Harry just nodded. "Help me with these, will you? Thanks..."

Harry and Hermione took two teacups each and returned to the sitting room. Ron was there, sitting on a couch and looking fiercely at Harry. Ginny was also there, now wearing a more concealing robe. She kept glancing sideways at her older brother with a mixture of shyness and defiance on her face.

Harry and Hermione placed a teacup in front of Ginny and Ron respectively, then sat next to them. Harry sighed, aware he was the centre of attention, and decided to break the ice.

"So... what happened since we left?" he slowly asked.

Ron and Hermione shared a side-glance. They returned their sights on Harry.

"Oh, we'll tell you," muttered Ron, his arms crossed on his chest. "We will sure tell you."

Harry and Ginny heard their narration.

**-o-o-o-**

**I**t had been a clear morning, that one. Summer air filled the surroundings of the Burrow with a gentle breeze carrying dandelion seeds and prospective of good weather. Nymphadora Tonks, seated on an upturned bucket next to the front door of the building, yawned and stretched intensely.

"And morning it is," said Remus Lupin, coming down from around the house and greeting Tonks. "The infamous morning," he added. "Who will tell Molly, then?"

Tonks shuddered. "Not me. She already hates me for my latest breakfast attempt. _You_ tell her."

Lupin looked aside. That was some un-requested side mission for him. They both had been up all night patrolling and deeply thinking on what would happen once the sun was up and everybody began to go downstairs for breakfast. They would find no Harry Potter to share the food with, because Harry Potter and Buckbeak the Hippogriff were both gone.

They didn't know Ginny was with him. That would have turned their thoughts much darker.

"Let's flip a coin," suggested Lupin with the voice of a desperate man.

"This is silly. Let's just get in and tell Molly. She'll find out sooner or later," said Tonks, though her voice didn't show any real wish of telling Mrs. Weasley of the events last night.

"Maybe we should prepare some Tranquilliser Charms?" wondered Lupin, his old days as Marauder slowly coming back to mind. "I remember James once used one on Sirius. He had a severe problem and didn't want to use the other options."

"What kind of problem?" asked Tonks, eager to avoid the incoming confession to the Weasleys.

"Well, we were in seventh year, see... and Sirius got fleas."

There was a long, silent pause.

"Oh, come on..." smiled Tonks.

"True story. He got fleas and didn't want to use a flea collar. So he began to get really itchy."

"Didn't his professors suspected anything?"

"We told them Sirius was suffering a severe case of Examinitis..." coughed Lupin. "The NEWTs were around the corner, see."

Behind them, the sound of dishes being placed on the table could be vaguely heard. Lupin and Tonks sighed in synchronisation.

"Well, then..." said Lupin.

"Yes, I know..." nodded Tonks.

"You don't think we can Apparate out once we tell her, do you?"

"She'll follow us to the End of the World until she has all the details," Tonks grimaced.

"Yes, thought she would..."

The front door creaked open. Mrs. Weasley stuck a sleepy head out.

"Good morning, Remus, Tonks... Breakfast is ready if you are."

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," greeted Lupin, and deep within his head the thought formed: _'But, for how long?'_

Tonks and Lupin walked into the kitchen and had seat next to Hermione Granger. The Twins and Mr. Weasley were also there. Ron hadn't yet come down; neither had Ginny, but nobody save the Twins knew why.

Mrs. Weasley served sausages and bacon in front of every person at the table. She placed three extra dishes.

"Tell Ron and Harry to come down, please," Mrs. Weasley said to Hermione. "And tell Ginny to hurry down, too," she added.

Hermione, though half asleep, felt something was wrong. "Ginny? She wasn't in her bed when I woke up. Must be in the bathroom..."

"Impossible, I just came from there," retorted Mr. Weasley.

Almost unnoticed by the group, Fred and George exchanged a sly glance and muffled a nasty little giggle.

"Then she must be waking Ron and Harry up," supposed Mrs. Weasley. "Oh, last night was _so_ thrilling!" she switched to a dreamy tone. "Not just the wedding, which was quite thrilling _despite the pranks_," she said this last in a sharp tone, half-turning at the Twins and wrongly guessing their muffled giggles were due to her words, "but because of some other things I saw," she finished, returning her attention to the pans and pots.

"Like what?" yawned Hermione as she stood up and began a slow and unworried advance to the staircase.

"Harry and Ginny..." sighed Mrs. Weasley. "They are so... fond of each other. Oh, I could almost hear _their_ wedding bells, last night..."

That was it for muffling. Fred and George coughed on their breakfast and couldn't avoid loud, yet brief, laughter.

"What's with you two?" Mrs. Weasley turned, scowling.

"Just a joke we heard last night..." Fred dried a teardrop.

"... A very special joke, indeed," finished George.

"Well, love is no joke!" said Mrs. Weasley, turning back to the stove. "I won't say you two don't have talent, very well, but laughing at everything in this world is not something to be proud of. There are things and times when you have to be serious."

Fred and George shared a glance and winked at each other. Tonks and Lupin saw and, for a brief instant, felt strangely terrified.

Tonks was slightly horrified as well. She turned her eyes to the staircase Hermione had climbed up. She wouldn't find Harry up there. She was literally counting down the minutes... no, the _seconds_ before everybody in the house knew-

"Are you okay, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley all of a sudden. Tonks returned from her terrible daydreaming only to find herself facing an even worse reality.

"Yes, yes I am," she managed. "Just, you know... patrolling all night is no joke."

Mrs. Weasley remained serious for a moment, but then switched to a motherly understanding tone.

"Of course it's not, dear. I'll tell you what, after breakfast you'll go rest. Arthur can take your post on patrolling the house; he has a free day at work due to Bill's wedding."

Arthur nodded in sympathy.

"Thanks," muttered Tonks.

Both she and Remus Lupin suddenly had a common thought of intense fear: Hermione's footsteps were coming downstairs. Quickly.

"Mrs.Weasley, Harry is not in Ron's bedroom," the smart girl worried. "And I can't find Ginny either," she added.

"Are you sure you checked the whole room?" asked Mrs. Weasley, not yet as worried as Hermione was, but steadily getting there.

"Yes, but I truly doubt they are sleeping under their beds..."

Mrs. Weasley had a twitch of terror, but she opted on reasoning first.

"But surely they are still here," she said. "Or maybe they woke up earlier and went out for a walk? Tonks, Remus, did you see them during your patrols?"

_The moment has come_, mourned Tonks and Lupin.

"W-Well..." she began, "we did indeed see Harry..."

"Oh, that's good," Mrs. Weasley sighed in relief.

"... But... he was... kind of... in a hurry," Lupin said. He realised how low his voice had trailed on during the sentence. By the end of it, the words were a mere mumble.

"What do you mean, _'kind of in a hurry'_?" requested Mrs. Weasley, switching to the demanding self that everybody learned to be afraid of.

Lupin sighed. _Oh, well, that was it_, he thought; _she will find out anyway, so..._

"Look, Molly... Sit down, please. Thanks. Now... The situation is... a bit difficult to explain. Er..."

"Oh, it's not difficult at all!" said Fred all of a sudden.

"It's really simple!" said George.

"What are you two talking about?" snapped Mrs. Weasley. The Twins didn't feel intimidated at all.

"It's as simple as this, Mother:"

"Harry was requested by Dumbledore to carry on an important mission, so he departed last night."

"And don't worry, he's not alone..."

"... because Ginny went along with him."

"And that's okay, because last night they got married in secret..."

"... so you can say that Mr. and Mrs. Potter just went to their Honeymoon."

"And that's why you won't find them anywhere in the house, today."

The Twins finished and grinned broadly. _Hey, if we're going to die, we shall die with a smile_ was what they thought.

The rest of the table was stunned. Hermione's mouth dropped open. Ron's foot froze before climbing down the last staircase, and he was now staring at his older brothers with wide eyes. Tonks and Lupin exchanged a very worried stare. Arthur choked on his toast and had to take a large amount of water to make it pass.

Mrs. Weasley, however, laughed.

"Oh, that was a good joke, indeed!" she said. "Of all the jokes and pranks you've performed so far, _this_ is the only one that really made me laugh!"

"Ah, how ironic, mother..."

"... because this is the actual truth," the Twins said, with broad grins.

Molly's laughter kept up as the information slowly gained space into her reluctant mind, then it became a soft laugh, a gentle giggle, a feeble hiccupping, a blinking of disbelief, a slow yet stoppable path to a serious curl on her lips, a dangerous scowl, and, what everybody was expecting, a reddening, and intense reddening, of her whole face.

"_W_..." she said. Everybody at the table shifted in terror. "_Wh._.." she tried again. Hermione and Ron, who had just finished the long path from the stairs to his chair, half-hid under the table. "_Wha_...!" she gasped, her face successfully becoming an ignited inferno.

Now even Tonks and Lupin were instinctively sliding under the table, and they all were well secure by the time Molly erupted and bellowed:

"_WHAAAAAAT?!_"

The roar made the dishes to tinkle, the walls to tremble, and the floors to shake. Arthur Weasley hit his head on the underside of the table and immediately knew that breakfast was a forgotten option.

Outside, the chickens felt silent, the pigs went to hide, the garden gnomes stared, all at once, at the Burrow, and flocks of birds hurried to fly away as Molly's cry of anger echoed across the fields.

**-o-o-o-**

**H**arry sipped the last drops of his tea with a sinking feeling. He had prepared himself for the day Ron and Hermione caught up with Ginny and him, but no preparation would ever be enough.

He gave Ginny a thoughtful gaze over the top of his cup. She was staring at the floor. She had been like that during most of the narration. However she has proven to be a very brave girl, she was still Molly's daughter, and as such she also felt guilty.

Harry left his cup on the table. He didn't dare to look Hermione or Ron straight in the eyes. Not yet.

"I am truly sorry to hear about Mrs. Weasley," he whispered at last. "Really. I am. But let's face it, she was going to have a similar reaction even if I had gone alone. And not to mention once she knew you two would be joining me."

There was silence. Harry wished they could say something. Anything.

"How much... has she learned... about the mission?" he added.

"Everything," came Hermione's voice, now sprinkled with worry. "Tonks and Lupin had to fill her in the details. She cried. A lot."

Harry just nodded.

"I reckon..." said Ron, very slowly, "... that she was going to do that anyway. It's just that..."

And now Harry could feel it: Ron was sad. He risked a look at his best friend, and found him avoiding his eyes as well.

"... It wouldn't have been as bad if Ginny had stayed home," he said at last.

"I wanted to come with Harry," Ginny whispered.

"But why marry him?" asked Hermione, also sad. "You've rushed into things! Of course you two love each other, I will not deny that. Otherwise the Bonding wouldn't have worked on you. But what I mean is... why ... I mean..."

"_Hermione_..."

Ginny had raised her head. She was staring at Hermione with a very serious expression on her face.

"Let's get this straight, once and for all," she added, and her whispers could cut through diamonds: "Harry is the one with the mission, isn't he?"

"Yes, but..."

"You and Ron are going to help him out. Not because he asked you, but because you wanted to help. Is that correct?"

"Yes, b-"

"Harry can die," Ginny suddenly said, and her words fell like a ton of lead. "You can die. Ron can die. We _all_ can die."

"Ginny, I understand that-"

"_You don't!_" Ginny snapped, jumping up. "You just care too much about rules to realise the facts! Last year you refused to follow the Prince's corrections in Harry's potion book because they were not legal! Well, Snape might have been a horrible person with very dangerous hexes up his sleeves, but he did improve the potions – you just refused to accept rules other than the 'official' ones!

"And you dare to try and make me understand that I, just because I'm a minor, can't be part of this mission? Are you going to cling to the rules in a life or death situation? Let me tell you something Hermione, and listen to my words: there are people out there who will not follow the rules, and as far as I am concerned we shouldn't follow the rules either!

"And that goes to _you_ as well!" she suddenly pointed at Ron, who was just about to make a remark. "You may say I am a minor, fine, but what I feel deep within are nothing but the feelings of a grown-up woman! And I can be wrong, but that's okay! I can be wrong, you can be wrong, we all can be damn wrong!

"But that's not the thing... _That's not the thing_..."

Ginny felt silent, mainly because she was staring to sob. She had to dry her tears before resuming her speech, now in a drowned voice.

"We all can die, I said, no matter we are in the mission or not. So at least have the mercy to give me my dreams now. I married Harry because I've felt something for him for years. Do you know how it feels to have a loved one nearby all the time and just reject the facts and pretend to live a lie? Do _you_, Hermione? Do _you_, Ron?"

Ron and Hermione shared a very embarrassed glance.

"Of course you know..." groaned Ginny. "Of course you of all people bloody know... So you can understand how I am feeling. Let's stop acting like kids, please. Let's be honest with each other. If you want to act like kids and pretend what you feel is not real, then go ahead and keep play-acting. But I am sick of it. This is who I am. This is how I feel. And this is how I'll to be, from now on until I stop breathing.

"I am staying with Harry, whether you like it or not," she ended.

The silence that followed Ginny's speech was only interrupted by Ginny and Hermione's sobs. Hermione's hands were clasped on her mouth, her eyes were wide and sad, and she couldn't force her tears back anymore.

"But I'm still mad at you," she whispered. She removed her hands and attempted to smile. "You see... I would have loved to be your Maid of Honour..."

Neither Ron nor Harry knew exactly how had it happened, but the distance between Ginny and Hermione suddenly vanished, showing two girls tightly locked in an embrace of sobs and tears.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Ron.

"Say, mate..." Ron murmured, "... As your best friend, this is really difficult to express... but..." he grimaced and stared at Ginny, who was weeping apologies along with Hermione's. "You better take care of her now, Harry. Because if you don't, I swear on our friendship that I will make you pay," he said, though it didn't sound as a menace, but as the only way Ron could express what he actually meant to say.

"Welcome to the family, Harry..." he added. Harry felt Ron's hand gripping his shoulder harder. Later on he could have sworn Ron's eyes were glittering, but it might have been effect of the light.

**-o-o-o-**

**(To be Continued…)**


End file.
